Happy St. Patrick's Day

There is a tendency, when you’re Irish, to take the celebrations of Saint Patrick’s Day for granted – until you spend it somewhere else.
A couple of years ago, I was working in London’s Canary Wharf for Saint Patrick’s Day. Looking out the window of a fifteenth-floor office, the only break of green in the glass and steel metropolis was some hastily painted inaccurate shamrocks on the windows of an empty pub across the street. With n’er a silly hat in sight, I was never more Irish than I was that day, listening to Raglan Road in my cubicle.
Growing up, St Patrick’s Day was the day to break Lent and crack open the sweet jar. A day for your granny to cut off a l

It’s All Happening at The Digital Hub

In the heart of Dublin's historic Liberties area, you'll find a unique place called The Digital Hub. This cluster of nine different buildings is filled with some of the city's most innovative tech and digital media companies. But this isn't your typical business campus. Here, they open their doors to the local community offering courses in STEM, music technology, digital skills and much more. They've also got an impressive list of alumni and have some ambitious plans for growth. We caught up with their Marketing and Communications Manager, Melissa Meehan, to find out more. Something's Brewing: The hub is situated across the road from St. James's Gate, the famed home of the Guinness Brewery. Melissa explains: "It's a really old historic part of Dublin, but one that's been earmarked as socially disadvantaged. Our role here is to create this campus that is a hub for tech, internet and digital media companies but also to bring the community along with us so that we're not gated and shut out from our immediate neighbours."

Most 4-year-olds are almost as digital savvy as their parents, and there's a high probability that your average toddler knows his or her way around an iPhone better than you do. It's still something of a surprise, then, to discover that the touchscreen generation can be as enthralled by a visit to the Lambert Puppet Theatre as their parents ever were.

As the one national holiday that is celebrated in more countries around the world than any other, St. Patrick's Day is the day when everyone wants to be Irish. What better way to spend it than over five fun-filled days in Dublin at St. Patrick's Festival from 15th-19th March? The festival sets out to seize that opportunity, and completely transform the national and international perception of St. Patrick's Day in Dublin. This country is bursting with the kind of creative energy, ideas and enthusiasm required to make our national holiday an unforgettable experience for all.

St Patrick: 10 things you may not know

How much do you know about our most famous patron saint? Put your knowledge to the test. Did you know... 1. St Patrick wasn’t Irish: Born in 432, Patrick was born to Roman parents in Wales or Scotland (depending on what you’re reading - there are contradicting reports and little clarity on the exact location). His family were Christian and apparently his grandfather was a priest (Hmmm?) but when he was a teen, he said that his family were not devout worshippers and he said: ‘[I] did not know the true God’. 2. Patrick wasn’t his real name: Like many of those who follow a vocation into religious life, Patrick wasn’t his birth name but rather he was born Maewyn Succat and changed his name to Patricius when he became a priest. 3. He came to Ireland...by force: A young Patrick/Maewyn was visiting a small villa owned by his parents when a group of Irish pirates (I know, right!) attacked the area in search of slaves to sell and they took him. He was sold to an Irish warlord in Donegal where he was tasked with minding sheep in the wilds of the country. Coming from his privileged background, this was a rude awakening for the young teen and he turned to God for help and guidance. He wrote in his book The Confession of St Patrick: " But after I reached Ireland, well, I pastured the flocks every day and I used to pray many times a day; more and more did my love of God and my fear of Him increase, and my faith grew and my spirit was stirred, and as a result I would say up to a hundred prayers in one day, and almost as many at night; I would even stay in the forests and on the mountain and would wake to pray before dawn in all weathers, snow, frost, rain; and I felt no harm and there was no listlessness in me—as I now realise, it was because the Spirit was fervent within me.

Pushbike couriers. You see them milling about on Dublin’s city streets every day. And if you don’t know one, or have never been one, they can be the subject of some curiosity.
Why would you want to do that for a living? Is it a real job? Could you live on the money they make? Is it dangerous? Are they crazy?
Well, seeing as I used to be one, I can answer some of these questions. But given that was back in the mid to late nineties, I caught up with one of them briefly, one who worked the streets at the time I did, and just so happens to be still out there.
The big theme of our chat revolved around how much the city and the job has changed. I always remember couri

Look Back in Anger

Gate Theatre

Thu 1st February - Sat 24th March

John Osborne’s groundbreaking play, Look Back in Anger focuses on the life and marital struggles of Jimmy Porter, an intelligent, rebellious young man and his upper-middle class wife, Alison. Tackling themes of sex, class, religion, politics, the media, and the sense of a country stifled by an official establishment culture, Look Back in Anger is widely considered to have changed the course of English drama in the 1950’s. Award-winning director, Annabelle Comyn, takes a fresh look at this world-renowned, blistering play, at a time when class and gender politics are once again to the fore.

Offsite

Various Locations

Sun 18th March - Thu 22nd March

OFFSITE is back with another jam-packed week of Workshops, Masterclasses, Outdoor Lunctime Talks, Sketchcrawl through the city, Panel Discussions, Book Launch, Exhibitions, Music, Delegate Party and AOI Doodle Jam.
The OFFSITE fringe festival now in its third edition, is the perfect opportunity for creatives to thrive: to learn from each other, to share their ideas, to inspire and be inspired by their peers. The majority of events are free and open to public, make sure to follow us on twitter and our hashtag #Offsite for registration announcements as they open one week prior to event.
Th

Dublin Comic Con

Convention Centre

Sat 31st March - Sun 1st April

Returning for its 6th year along with an extra date, Dublin Comic Con : Anime Edition brings media guests from TV and film, Comic creators, artists, fans and professionals together for a weekend of talks, workshops, demos, interactive activities and all around great family fun with stronger focus on Anime, think of it as the best of DCC August mixed with some amazing Anime guests, panels, cosplay and more!
Our flagship show is also returning the 11th and 12th of August 2018
If you are not a huge anime fan, don't worry we will have sci-fi, pop culture, media guests, sets etc for the non A

Assassins

Gate Theatre

Thu 12th April - Sat 9th June

The multiple Tony Award-winning ASSASSINS lays bare the lives of nine people who assassinated (or tried to assassinate) the President of the United States.
The nation’s most notorious assassins gather on stage to violently pursue a twisted American Dream… Stephen Sondheim’s signature blend of intelligently stunning lyrics and beautiful music combine in this bold, original, disturbing, and alarmingly funny musical.
Music and Lyrics by STEPHEN SONDHEIM - Book by JOHN WEIDMAN
Director....Selina Cartmell
Musical Director....Cathal Synnott

Dublin Dance Festival 2018

Various Locations

Wed 2nd May - Sun 20th May

Dublin Dance Festival is the leading dance event on the Irish arts calendar. Each year in May, the Festival brings together dance artists and choreographers from across the world to share vibrant contemporary dance with audiences in Ireland. The festival provides a platform for Irish choreographers to develop their work in an international context, premiering major new Irish works during each Festival and providing key networking opportunities. Each year the Festival attracts many prominent dance promoters from overseas for whom Dublin has become an exciting place to discover new dance.

International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival

Various Locations

Mon 7th May - Sun 20th May

The Dublin Gay Theatre Festival is an annual event, celebrating contribution of gay people to theatre, past and present.
The Festival was founded in 2004 to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Oscar Wilde, in his native city. With an emphasis on new or recent international and Irish works with a broadly gay theme or relevance, the Festival has grown to become the largest event of its type in the world.
The Festival creates new opportunities for visibility and affirmation for existing and emerging gay artists and theatrical works. The Festival’s criteria for inclusion into the pr

Twitter

If you're visiting Dublin for #StPatricksFest check out #MadeInDublin an installation collaboration of @EamonnD1 @dvddnh & Niall Sweeney, a panoramic of the city in sound and vision. Running in @TheComplexDub until 18 Mar 11am - 8pm daily as part of @thisispopbaby's #WhereWeLive https://t.co/J7kCDctZ15

The best way to take in the St. Patrick’s festival is by public transport. Use the TFI map & public transport information at https://t.co/OrlNmbKM5T to discover the best route for you. You can also download the TFI Journey Planner App.#PaddysDay #Dublin #StPatricksDay https://t.co/YgvupIncUS

See the stunning exhibitions in @dlrLexIcon when you visit. Double Vision by Diana & Shirley Copperwhite; Humans of Dublin by Peter Varga; 12 Worlds: an exhibition of Contemporary Czech children's book illustrations & Mothers of the Nation: Erin and Victoria. Photos @irishphoto https://t.co/gfDQEGt2Kk

What is #LNMS18
It’s a day to celebrate that Irish is one of the top 100 or so most used languages online out of the 6,000+ languages in the world. Send a post as Gaeilge on social media today with #LNMS18 to take part! #SnaG18 https://t.co/yB2aH3FGug

Our Articles

Galia (pronounced Ga-lee-ah) Arad is just back from playing support on Marc Almond’s UK tour.
Last year, she toured Ireland with Jack L. She regularly tours Europe with Jools Holland, most recently playing support for him at the 3Arena in Dublin. And she owes it all to Shane McGowan and his manager Joey Cashman, who in a strange, unexpected way set Galia’s music career in train and took her from small-time gigging in New York to centre stage at the Royal Albert Hall.
Coming from a classically trained background, Galia moved to New York from her Indiana home in her early twenties to pursue a singer-songwriter career with a musical style that she calls “Bob Dylan meets

Dr Ruth Johnson is City Archaeologist for Dublin city and is charged with protecting, managing and investigating our oldest heritage, much of it underground.
As well as conservation projects, Ruth has input to new development projects across the city and a role in policy development advocacy. We sat down for a chat to find out how she works and what’s going on across the city, under the ground, in our oldest graveyards, our buried monasteries and in half-hidden, forgotten houses.
How did you first become an archaeologist Ruth?
I worked on a community excavation project in Yorkshire while doing my A-levels after which I did a Primary Degree in archa

On the morning that I visit the Royal Irish Academy, they’re testing out the new Luas on Dawson Street; empty carriages move by while people take time to stop and take in Dublin’s ever-evolving cityscape.
The Royal Irish Academy has been located at 19 Dawson Street since 1851 when it moved from its Grafton Street origins to the more spacious Academy House. Sandwiched between Saint Anne’s Church and the Mansion House, you have probably walked past its elegant exterior hundreds of times and assumed that whatever happens inside has nothing to do with you. But the Academy wants you to know that it has.
Pauric Dempsey, the Head of Communications, meets me in reception

One of Rathmines’ smallest buildings happens to be one of the most distinctive, for it houses a Dublin art collective, MART.
The old fire-station, with a classic engine-red door facing the main street, was built in 1847 soon after Rathmines became an independent “township”. Like the magnificent Rathmines Town Hall, the station was a symbol of township independence and civic pride. The fire crew based here played a big role battling the inferno, which blazed around Sackville Street during the

On Dorset Street in Dublin’s north inner city there’s a typewriter shop that’s been there as long as I can remember.
Founded in 1983, it’s run by Joe Millar and his son, who’s also named Joe. It’s the last typewriter shop in Dublin and the only one in the Golden Pages where it’s listed, simply, as ‘The Typewriter Shop’.
Before setting up the shop, Joe Sr had worked in the typewriter trade for the American manufacturer Remington: “they had offices in Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Galway and Limerick”. They sold typewriters to offices, and serviced the machines to keep them i

You stroll in the door and you walk back in time... Back into a world of Victorian exotica. With the polished wood, the old brass fittings and the glass cases, you feel enveloped in the comfort you find in a good old pub. But this isn’t a pub. This is a place of learning. Or to be more precise, this is a place of fun. This is the “Dead Zoo” or as it is more formally called, The Museum of Natural History. Situated between Leinster House and the Attorney General’s Office, this is a real gem of a museum. It’s been going now for some 160 years and not only is it one of the oldest public museums in the country, it’s also one of the most popular. Each year some 320,000 people visit the museum and enjoy all its Victorian charms for free. “Yes it’s free in,” Education Officer of Archaeology and Natural History, Siobhán Pierce exclaims proudly. Siobhán is joined by the Education Assistant, Geraldine Breen.